Some good news and some bad news. JB3 has settled in and made himself quite comfortable although I think there’s something really wrong with his right leg – not only his paw but his leg which makes him limp. I don’t think he can run.
All the guineas have disappeared – something got all of them eventually. I wish I had not gotten them because this is just another loss to endure.
Remember the two kitties that went to California? Here they are today – happy little kitties living with Mark and Cyndy.
On the way to Rochester last week I had a quilt to bind – A Walk Around the Block. It will be in the online store sometime this coming week and can be purchased as a paper pattern from me – $5.00 plus a SASE.
Went to the garden this afternoon to pick peas – Telly and Hazel laid down in the shade of the asparagus to stay cool.
A Walk Around the Block was intended to be finished by Fourth of July but that didn’t happen – now it will be ready for 2023.
I used to make and sell blank photo cards in the quilt shop but just recently have run out so it was time to make more. I send Rainbow Bridge cards to my friends who lose a pet. The verse is inside.
I am willing to make them for sale if anybody is interested – $4.00 per card which will include postage. I’d love to take some new rainbow pictures but I haven’t seen a rainbow for several years now.
I was in Mason City last week and stopped at the new thrift shop – I came away with some great bargains. Like I told Rick, I get lots of pleasure buying a $.50 bowl and when I die, somebody can take it back to the thrift store. Think of it as a rental system – haha!
Remember that tree root I planted upside down? Here it is today and it will get better.
Look at Tim’s corn!
The lilies are almost done – it’s such a short season but worth it. Next will be all those phlox which I’ve tried to thin out but have not been successful.
I got the day off from my Sunday job as pianist tomorrow. I just want to get up and read the paper with my coffee. Don’t forget, I love to hear from you!
Telly and Hazel are the best of friends. They really stick together.
The picture today are beautiful.
Thanks
Hi Mary, just been to see Elvis movie(excellent! ) to celebrate my sister’s birthday, Robynne liked Elvis and l loved the Beatles. Your hydrangeas are very beautiful, l am looking forward to the new house next month and trying to find homes for all my stuff, l have done a lot of downsizing and I’m sure my son did some for me too,. Enjoy your day off, best wishes from Sandy
Let’s face it – we have to take the highs and the lows together. I have a raft of barn kittens, most I will never be able to pet. Trap and neuter is a loss here. I feed them, worm them, make sure they have water and lots of places to hide and sleep. I have one old dog, she’s good company, but can’t get on the couch anymore. Yes, the rainbow bridge cards are good, yes, I’d like a few for myself. My friends animals are all getting old too. Thanks for the conversation, oftentimes you hit the nail on the head of how we all feel.
I’m sorry about your Guineas…that would be terrible to go out and find them gone. What is the name of the new thrift store? I’m hoping to get to Garner in August & I’d like to add it to our shopping list!
Jean – it’s called Twice as Nice on Delaware in MC, across the parking lot from Music Man Square.
Thank you! I’ll check it out for sure!
Jean – I bought an Alfred Meakin ironstone bowl for $.25!!!
What beautiful pictures – thank you for sharing. I’m so glad the California kitties are doing well. God bless Mark and Cyndy for giving them a forever home.
Telly and Hazel are so sweet; such good friends.
Yesterday we took our 1947 Chris Craft wooden boat to the wooden boat show in Clear Lake. Of course Angel was with us in her stroller. I don’t know if we got more comments about our boat or about Angel. Ha
Gloria – I’ll bet Angel was the bigger draw – haha!! How fun for her to go along in such comfort. Becky and I are planning to drive Red to Thursday on Main next week. Hopefully we can park on Main Street so I can keep an eye on her.
I enjoyed the walk around the block quilt. Looks like one I need to make and use up some similar colored scraps. I never seem to be able to get ahead of them. Seems I make more quilts out of my scraps the last several years but do enjoy seeing what they can become.
I’m enjoying my coffee early this morning and not rushing off to church today either. I have a lot of last minute prep and packing to do. Tomorrow my new RV gets inspected finally and the next day I will leave on my first trip alone with my 3 poodles.
I don’t remember if I shared this after my husband died in April. My plan, dream, desire, call it what you may….was to buy another motor home and travel again like we did in the early 2000’s when he was well. We were full timers from 2005 -2009.
Anyway I found one I wanted much earlier than I expected and brought it home from Indiana to PA. in late June. Her name is “Hope.” So now my inspection date is almost here and I am as excited as I am scared.
I will be traveling to Pacolet, SC to the poodle rescue where my dogs are from and staying there for a couple weeks to actually be able to do some hands on volunteering.
I believe everything will turn out fine as long as I remember that God is my copilot.
Patti, please keep us posted on all your new journeys in Hope. You are living the life with your pets and the open road and your bed and nourishment all inside. It’s a new road ahead but I am excited for you and anxious to hear how each day goes. We have a 40’ motor home and I could not drive it so I respect your ambition. When my husband was sick last year, I thought a lot of my life moving forward and what would become of the RV. We have had new large campgrounds open in our area recently and life will be good for you enjoying yours as well as the animals that will benefit from your volunteer work.
My new coach is a 2021 Newmar Baystar, 31ft. I don’t mind driving but I do dread the dumping tanks part. I also purchased the tow car but am not taking it on this first trip. I need to learn more about the operation of the coach before I add that stress too. It is also outfitted to be fully solar so that is another learning curve so I am taking it one step at a time.
I admire you so much, Pattie. A mixture of spirit, determination, and wanderlust! Would love to hear of your adventures!
We have one standard poodle, Theo, who is almost 6. Honestly, his puppy energy has only calmed a bit this past year. Can’t imagine having 3 like him. Ha!
Pattie – PLEASE keep us all posted about where you are and what you’re seeing. I would also love to see pictures of the poodle rescues. So did you sell your home and plan to live only in the RV? You are a brave woman to strike out alone with a big RV – is it a Winnebago? Here’s something to think about – the rest areas where you might walk your dogs are hotbeds of disease and infections for dogs. Walk them somewhere else if possible. Can’t wait to hear about your trip! My readers are also excited for you!
My coach is a Newmar Baystar which is a class A RV, the bus style. I will do my best to stay in touch and will send pictures too. At my age I don’t think I could sell everything again and be on the road alone. It just feels more secure to know I have a place to land when I want to. Although I do expect to go southwest for the winter for several months. Not sure how I am going to handle the house being empty that long though. It’s too far away to worry about yet. One step at a time.
Patty W from PA,
I am beyond excited for you, as you bravely begin this Rv solo trip. Good luck with your inspection.
In 2003, when black bears visited the campground restroom during the night😳, we decided to purchase a self-contained rig. I have often wondered if I could go it alone.
Keep us posted on your Big Adventure. Thanks.
So glad you are in the position to do what you want to do. Welcome to the south and you have my admiration. Travel safely. Carolyn in Fayetteville, GA
I have lilies on the north and south side of my house. The ones on the south usually bloom early and the north later. Early on this spring something killed my south ones so my north ones are just starting to bloom now. Sad that the guineas didn’t make it. It is always frustrating when something you put so much effort into doesn’t make it. Especially when it is a living animal. I am a big animal lover and I know I would be heart broken 💔. We want to get some chickens eventually. I thought about getting guinea too, but I definitely don’t want to get any birds unless I have an outdoor guardian dog. We have racoon, opossum and coyote for sure. I think there is a fox around and something smaller (maybe a weasel or whatever form of that we have in Iowa). It’s almost impossible to make an enclosure that is 100% safe for them. Enjoy you Sunday morning off!
I’m so sorry all your quineas have disappeared. I can share in your heartbreak, I found one of my chickens had been brutally killed Friday night and my sweet little Zsa Zsa chicken was gone. Sammie, my Aussie found parts of Zsa Zsa quite a distance from the chicken house and that really hurt, it may have been better if she was just gone. I don’t know what happened, nothing has ever got into the chicken yard and I didn’t find any way something could get in or out but it happened. Now I have two hens and two roosters and when they are gone that’s it, no more chicks simply because like every other creature, I love them and losing them is getting harder the older I get. I know my fourteen year old golden and twelve year old lab are coming to the end of their lives and I worry more and more everyday. I also have a 17 year old kitty that has really slowed down and my 32 year old gelding is showing his age too. I know I have given everyone amazing lives, spoiled everyone, but losing them is so very painful.
Give Telly and Hazel hugs and kisses from me, they are so precious!
Linda – I can feel your heartbreak and can identify 100% – I have found only one dead chicken, the rest are simply gone without a trace. This morning when I was half awake I was sure I heard the guineas outside. I wish I had never gotten them.
Your hydrangeas are lovely. What do you think happened to the guineas? Do you have coyotes? Coyotes are predators over here in eastern NC. I adopted your idea, if my younger cousins come to my funeral, they can carry home a quilt I’ve made, or my Mother made. I doubt any of them will come, but it is a good iidea. My poor son will have to get rid of all of my STUFF. Haha.
Frances – you could designate someone to be in charge of dispersing your quilts. Coyotes won’t go over our 6’ fence and these guineas were roosting- in fact I heard a loud shriek/screech when I was coming in from walking the dogs. I’m thinking hawk or owl – remember last summer when I lost so many chickens but that was during the daylight hours. Last night I dreamed I heard the guineas outside. So sad.
Good Morning Mary! I hope you have a lovely day today on your day off. I always enjoy your posts and your great photos. I’m looking forward to seeing the growth of your upside down tree root…fascinating! Thank you for taking time to share your life so beautifully in word and picture. We lived in NE many years ago and visited your shop. It was wonderful. Thanks again. Enjoy!
Oh, Mary. So much about which to oooh and aaah. I love the quilt , and I seem to especially like are, beige and blue quilts, hence the reason I love Summer Kitchen so much . And….those kittens. May I say,”life looks like a whole lot of okay?” Take care.
Oh, and I love your hydrangeas!!
Patti in P A, enjoy your travels! Do be careful. Love your plan. Keep a journal, if you have time. May have to try Trip around the block. That pic of Telly and Hazel is picture perfect! Enjoy your Sunday morning.
I have a red Lilly and it only blossomed for one day. My yellows are still blooming. Shasta daisies are done as our lack of rain didn’t help them and I could not keep up with watering them all around our place. I wonder if JB3 has a hip problem from maybe getting hit by a car. At least he won’t have to run from a predator to save his life in your care. I am so sorry about the guineas. It’s so hard losing a pet.
I was driving home from the grocery store this week and a huge hawk flew out of the side of the road with a furry animal in its clutches as it’s legs were dangling and it could hardly get any momentum to flap its wings cause the critter was large and it broke my heart to see this evolution. I wanted to “unsee it”. I was afraid it would hit my windshield. We have vultures and hawks around here and there is a mama fox running during the day by our yards with food in its mouth to take back to a den. I never leave my dogs out by themselves. We have enjoyed sweet corn all week with our dinner as nothing like the first batch of home grown corn. Enjoy your Sunday in your own quiet meditation.
Hi Mary, we are going to Lime Springs IA today for a family reunion and we went to Freeport IL for a reunion last weekend. Our county fair will end today, it was hot and dry – without our usual storm with some rain! But we will have to water the garden tonight as we have missed the rain that has gone north and south of us, Mom said they got more than 2 inches in Cresco on Friday – even 10 miles south of us in Kasson got almost 2 inches. We got about 10 drops with almost no rain chances in the next 10 day forecast. But for right now – time for me to get dressed in my walking clothes and get my 2 mile walk in – before it gets hot! Have a great, relaxing morning!! Sherry
Hot and humid again in Georgia. Trying to decide if I want to make my pink quilt larger or just keep it as a wall hanging. My hummingbirds are keeping me busy. Going through 8 cups of sugar a day. Anyone know of a way to feed feral cats when you’re on vacation? Every idea I come up with does not keep the ants out or the raccoons/possums from eating all the food. My nearest neighbors are dog people and will not feed feral cats. Plus we have no family near us. Back to watching the British Open today. Have a wonderful day!
Patty – find someone else in your community who has some compassion for these cats – maybe somebody in your church? Wish I were there to help you.
Patty, can you ask at your closest vet clinic if they know of someone who does pet sitting or who also takes care of feral and neighborhood cats? You might be able to connect to another client of a vet clinic and exchange pet care or other tasks with like-minded pet people.
Thanks Mary. I will check with our Vet about pet sitters. Hopefully I can find someone willing to drive out to the country to feed my feral cats. We’re not going until September so I have some time! One of the cats is getting more relaxed around me so I’m hoping I can get it fixed soon. (All male ferals)..wish me luck.
i do enjoy seeing your garden photos on the blog. I have really enjoyed my lilies this year also. For once, the rabbits didn’t eat them before they could bloom.
Your blog was so so newsy today and I love all the pics. Especially Telly and Hazel in the asparagus♥️. Sorry to read about your guinea hens. I am finishing a quilt for my first great grandchild due in August. My grandson and his wife chose not to know the sex of the baby before birth so we refer to the baby as ‘Little Nugget.’ Raining here this morning in west central Illinois. My husband picked our first slicer tomatoes yesterday, several cucumbers and peppers, lots of cherry tomatoes and some blackberries, too. Be well, Mary.
I love the table topper quilt! Your hydrangeas are so beautiful. Enjoy reading about your life in the country!
Those phlox are absolutely beautiful. Sorry about the guineas.Have a great week
It’s a hot and humid Sunday morning over here in Minnesota, a good one for a relaxing cup of coffee and the newspaper. I keep thinking I need to come up with a quilt project (yours looks great) but I’m finding that as elusive as my desire to do so. Where does the enthusiasm for quilt making run off to? Summer is shaping up pretty nicely there, your flowers are beautiful and the upturned root system is going to turn into a pretty interesting topiary of leaves and flowers before the end of summer. I just started reading a new novel by Viola Shipman, The Edge of Summer but my favorite by this author is The Heirloom Garden.
Your Walk Around the Block quilt is lovely!!! Flying Geese are favorites for me!!
I love the walk through your garden!! As you know, I’ve dipped my toes in this year and am loving my pumpkin patch! Fun to watch things grown and bloom and produce!!
It’s going to be HOT here again today, so I will escape to the mountains with friends for a concert along the river! Enjoy your day off!!
Diane – a concert along the river? What a visual for me and how fun that would be!
I’m sorry to hear about your Guinea hens. Nature can be cruel sometimes. I also feel bad that JB3 has a bum leg! I am interested in the Walk around the Block quilt. Some of us in our church would like to start a prayer quilt ministry. We’d like to do smaller quilts. I’m curious what size this quilt finishes. By the way, I love seeing pictures of the farm. It’s so green! Down here in south Texas, we’re in the midst of a severe drought!
I just want to take a minute and thank you for the time and effort you put into this blog. I look forward to reading it everyday both the good and the bad. It’s all part of life. Take care.
I am also so sorry to hear about your guineas. The kitties in California look very happy there. Love your
flowers. Your hydrangeas are gorgeous. Have the rat detail slowed down? I hope they are so nasty. It is
something that Rick’s ankle still isn’t healed completely. It is good to have today home without playing at church. Enjoy the paper and maybe a little sewing time or going through your fabric stash for a new project. Always fun to go through it. Tim’s corn looks so good. It is very tall. Ours here aren’t that tall as the farmers couldn’t get in the fields as early. Now we are in a drought. We finally got just about a half inch of rain yesterday. It is the first in a very very long time. Had sprinkles twice before. Been watering my
flowers. The grass is brown in our area too. This week will be in the 90’s again. We need more rain and cooler temperatures. Had 2 grandsons over Friday am and we took them out to the golf course to practice.
They want to learn how to golf. Fun time. Finished a quilt called Five stars. It has many other names also.
It is made from half square triangles. There are so many different designs a person can make from half
square triangles. Don’t have as much time now as there is a lot of work outside to do. You create such pretty quilts, table toppers, and wall hangings. Enjoy today
Mary so sorry that your guineas are all gone. Such heartache to loose our pets but we keep opening our hearts for more. My Dylan was a one year old rescue when we got him. Have always gotten my dogs as puppies so was different to get a one year old. He is afraid of floors without carpets, we have carpets in the living room and dining rooms and runners everywhere else so he can navigate around the house. Don’t know what that is all about but we make it work for him and he is such a sweet friend.
Your flowers are beautiful and I love the upside down plant that is thriving.
Have a lovely Sunday, I am heading out into the humidity to trim my roses!
I would love to purchase a few of your rainbow cards.
Hi Mary. I’d be interested in your cards if you decide to make more. The one and only time I was in your store, I purchased a pack of blank photo cards of old pincushions in the snow. I absolutely loved them and was sad when I used the last one. With the photos you take of your farm, animals, quilts and flowers, you could make some beautiful cards. As I said, I’d be interested!
Tina – I just made up some tomato pincushion cards and need to get more reprints. I thought I’d put them for sale at Junkin Gal and when I could determine which ones sold the best would order those reprints. How about I show some on the blog – if I start taking orders I’ll need to give them a number, etc. sounds daunting, doesn’t it?
I’m sure they’re a bunch of work but I’d be one of your best customers!
Mary, just your mention of picking peas–brings back memories of how wonderful garden fresh produce is!!
Nothing can replace it. I’ve been enjoying all your flower pics you’ve been posting and of course anything quilting. Sorry about your guineas –I always enjoyed the sound they make.
Any secrets to getting so many blooms on your hydrangeas? Water? Fertilizer?
Mary H – just lost my long comments to you! These plants came from my neighbor Emma whose mother-in-law planted them in the mid 1800s so I know they’re very sturdy. My guess is that they love the east facing location and not the hot summer sun. I never water and never fertilize.
Mine face north but don’t get blazing sun. They are not old, maybe that’s it!
Mary – I think age is part of it but both Rick and I have commented on the large size of the blooms this year.
Mary, you have an amazing creative spirit! I do NOT remember you planting the upside down root, but I love love it and can see its potential so clearly! Would never ever have thought of it myself. Thinking maybe sweet potato vine would like that. The Walk Around The Block quilt is charming!
Roxanne – when it makes more progress I’ll show all the pictures! It was the beginning of spring when I posted it.
Saw the movie “Where the Crawdads Sing” and for people who are in touch with nature it is a good story . It stayed true to book. The protagonist was seen on quilts throughout show!
Love pics of animals, iris, plants, fields, fowl, quilts, so more power to you.
Pamela
Pamela Pearson – cant wait to see this movie!
Your flowers are lovely. Been hotter than hells waiting room this past week with no relief in sight. Splitting time between house in town & ranch. Still working on cleanup, feel like it is never ending. Finally finished with repairing of fences damaged. Most sheet metal from outbuildings has been cleaned up (at least large pieces) large pit dug & filled with vegetation debris.. under burn ban so probably be months before can burn that. Still have a lot of trees &limbs to clean up but at least can see progress has been made. Making progress on inventory of household content loss.
Nikki – and you just reminded me I have never taken that inventory video!!! I wish we could all spend the day at your house and get everything cleaned up for you!
It was a little cooler here today; we ran an errand and then drove thru the country admiring the corn and soybeans. My husband commented it was not real exciting, but I said our area is beautiful, so lush and green. Before Covid and my husband’s chemo treatments, we went west all summer. In staying home, I have a new appreciation for the Midwest, where we were raised.
I wonder if JB3 was thrown from the vehicle, when he was dumped. I hope he improves, poor baby.
I hope you enjoyed your low-key Sunday, my favorite kind of day. Thanks for the blog. 🥰
After 107 days without measurable rain, we finally got some rain here in southern Nevada! We sure do need it; it wasn’t much but anything is better than nothing. Love seeing all your pretty flowers and all the animal pictures. Hope your Sunday was good.
Poor JB3. Good thing he found a good home with you. Sorry to hear about your guineas. Animals sure fill our hearts but break them when they’re gone too.
I like the quilt. I’ve been cutting up scraps into squares. Next is to figure out a scrappy quilt and use them up. I’m trying to finish some projects too. Trying to match up tops and backing and binding. When it’s cooler I’ll start quilting them.
We’ve been trying hard to keep our eye plants alive. It was 108 here today. If the roots are damp, the leaves dry out. I take the cats out in the morning and evening. Almost daily we surprise our little Suzy Squirrel. She has a nest up in one of the oaks but lays in the dirt under the tree during the heat of the day. I guess the dirt is cooler than the air in the tree.
Wednesday my sisters and I leave for Fredericksburg. I’m looking forward to laughing and talking and sewing!
Great post. Just getting to read it today. Telly and Hazel in the asparagus, so cute! Sorry about the guineas, I won’t get them because I have my chicken run enclosed with hardware cloth. I don’t think they’d be happy unless they could free range. My husband wouldn’t like their noise! I’m so excited for Pattie with her new RV! Sounds like a great first trip. And I feel heartbroken for Linda losing her favorite hens. It’s raining here today and we too really need it. Not a lot but some. Jan in MA
Mary, I don’t usually get time to respond to your writings, and as it is here its Thursday I’m just getting to read Sunday’s! I love your hydrangea blooms and how you get different beautiful colors!! I really miss mine! A friend gave me two sprouts from her.bushes, which were white and pink, mine grew to be big and beautiful but blue, I’m told the colors have to do with the soil.
I am originally from Md, moved to VA in 2006 after raising our two beautiful children, to what I thought was my final and retirement home. Then as you know all too well live throws you curve balls. In 2019, I had to have my right kidney removed due to cancer. What is so strange, is I wasn’t having any symptoms except a little pain in my right side and I thought I had pulled a muscle!! Then one day all neck broke loose, went to a kidney specialist, they told me I had a massive tumor on my kidney and it had to come out immediately!! My husband had just retired in May of this year and shortly after was diagnosed with dimentia, brought on by a lifetime of sleep apnea!! Then less than 6 months after my surgery, I am diagnosed with a meta sis of the kidney cancer in my lungs! It is considered stage IV because there is no cure!
So in February of that same year my Son lost his beautiful wife who was 40 years old!! She had a sudden heart attack in the bathroom at her work, sadly no one found her 10 minutes, they restarted her heart, but she was brain dead. Their son was 13 at the time!
Moving to this year, so plans came about for us to move.to North Carolina and build a house right next to my Son, where he was having his forever home built. This would not only get us close to family, but in the Duke University Health system, which is awesome!
We sold our house less than a week on the market in December 2021, had to be out January 6. Could not have done it without the help of some awesome nephews!! So builder says house will be ready February 25. My Son has a friend going out of country from January 4 to March 28 and needs a house sitter, perfect! So me and my husband our 3 doggies and our car packed so high you can’t see out head for NC. To make a long story short, we just went to settlement on our house on June 17th. During the time we waited, I got so sick from the can er treatment I thought I was leaving this earth. A week before we went to settlement my husband went in the hospital with bronchitis and pneumonia, he wound up having pulmonary and heart failure and they were asking me his live saving wishes!! I had so many people praying for him, he was in the cardiac intensive care unit and I left on his fifth night in the hospital thinking they might call me in the middle of the night. My daughter and I went back the next morning and he was sitting in a chair with just oxygen looking like himself!!! The Dr said he had a remarkable rebound!! I call it a miraculous rebound!! Sad thing is he has constant heart failure and his cardiologist tells me not to let them put him on a respirator nor resuscitate him as they would just be beating him up, his heart is too weak to come back.
There were so many ups and downs waiting to get in our house but I love it, so does Steve but we did so much moving around in those 6 months of waiting, he often asks me how long are we staying here? He remembers nothing about being in the hospital thankfully.
Thanks for listening Mary, I have some of your Goat Gazette newspapers and fell in love with you and have followed you since then. Have a Great day from a very blessed woman! Penny Carter
Penny!!!! Remember the Helen Keller quote that goes something like “I felt sorry for myself because I had no shoes and then I saw a man with no feet”. That’s how I’m feeling right now after reading your story – I am totally amazed that you can cope with everything you’ve gone through. I wish I lived close to you so I could help you! Is your husband well enough to be at home without 24 hr. nursing care? Do you have just one son? So glad he is nearby to help. Every time we go to Mayo I am aware of the fact that it’s mostly old men in wheelchairs pushed by old women. Why is it that old men deteriorate faster than women? Is it just because they can’t cope? You are handling all of this and you’re sick yourself! How are you feeling now day by day? Are you totally moved in and settled? Have you done any quilting? I think all of the blog readers can sympathize with you as we’re all about the same age group. I am so glad you wrote – please keep us posted!
Penny, ditto what Mary said!Prayers for your husband and you and for your continued strength as you walk your journey. Remember that you are not alone, the Lord is walking every step with you.